Really Surprised!

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Blistering performances.

Shock jock Eli Roth's recent KNOCK KNOCK was ostensibly a remake slash rehabilitation of Pete Traynor's notorious 1977 DEATH GAME, the one time skeleton in the adjoining closets of cult actresses Sondra Locke and Colleen Camp, with the original's director acting as producer no less, but in all fairness it was the late adult "auteur" Chris Warfield who got there first with his 1973 directorial debut LITTLE MISS INNOCENCE. A contract player over at MGM in the studio system's twilight years, Warfield would rack up an impressive roster of '60s TV credits on shows like PERRY MASON and MY THREE SONS prior to entering the burgeoning adults only arena as a Jack of all trades, producing Bill Rotsler's mock documentary LIKE IT IS, penning Corey Allen's EROTIC ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO and donning the customary white coat to portray the sensitive shrink on Ted Roter's peekaboo case history NORMA. Founding Lima Productions to sustain soft-core's viability in the face of increasingly intimate exploits starting to hog US skin cinema screens, he finally took the reigns, resulting in this labor of love he was to write as well as direct which - barring its infrequent use of "contemporary" and therefore instantly outdated lingo - has held up surprisingly well over the four intervening decades.Easily the most accomplished thespian in exploitation and Dave Friedman's go to guy on a sizable slew of projects that include STARLET! and TRADER HORNEE, John Alderman headlines as middle-aged composer Rick Engels whose "neato" LA pad becomes the stage for the manipulative mind games played upon him by a pair of perky hitchhikers he had unwittingly picked up earlier that day. Fancying himself as something of a Lothario, he had innocently flirted with them as he drove them up to the beach, thinking no more of it until they turn up on his doorstep refusing to leave. Charming their way inside innocuously enough, their plans are soon revealed as more sinister than their host could reasonably assess. The character referred to by film's title, toothsome blonde Judy (busy starlet Terri Johnson, billed as "Judy Medford" and a regular for Friedman and Harry Novak, here on the brink of early retirement as hardcore was closing in) shows up in Rick's bedroom only to be revealed as a virgin at the painful moment of penetration ! Prior to their coupling, there's an amusing bit of dialog with Judy playfully slapping Rick's face for his being so bold as to steal a kiss which she explains as "fulfillment" of his expectations as to how a young lady should behave under the circumstances. Clearly, the term "fulfillment" served as Warfield's thesaurus treasure as it would feature prominently in the titles of two of his early explicit endeavors FULFILLMENT and BEYOND FULFILLMENT, which he customarily signed under the alias of "Billy Thornberg".With Judy's maidenhead a thing of the past, it's time for her older and bolder best friend Carol (cult carnal queen Sandy Dempsey who successfully straddled the fence separating simulated from real sex until her untimely death in a freak boating accident in the Gulf of Mexico in 1975) to do a number on Rick. Apparently asleep on his couch, albeit in the nude, as he stumbles from his bedroom in the wake of Judy's unanticipated deflowering, she soothes his frayed nerves at the thought of a repeat performance that "virgins are only one per customer" ! It's snappy, well-delivered dialog such as this that sustains audience interest as well as sympathy for all three characters throughout the film's brief but exceptionally employed running time. Soon Carol and Judy are either taking turns or teaming up to exhaust "poor" Rick, alienating him from both social life and professional obligations. Although Carol seems completely in control, she will ultimately prove quite unhinged as the result of having been sexually abused by several family members as a child and is now attempting revenge on all men. While this was already something of a cliché even then in overheated melodramas such as this, not to mention more than a tad moralizing, Dempsey's shattering delivery of her big shrieking speech to Judy - whose guilt pangs have brought about a change of heart - and a now nearly comatose Rick never fails to impress, especially as there was otherwise little in the actress's body of work to suggest such an ability.Recalling Mark Haggard's prior THE LOVE GARDEN in its focus on a very small group of characters intimately interacting to supply earnest drama, Warfield's admittedly less explicit endeavor (staying well within the confines of its R rating whereas Haggard brushed dangerously close against the dreaded X) has the edge in at least two important areas. It wisely leavens its heavy-handed histrionics with snide sarcasm and production-wise it looks and sounds as good as any small scale American movie made at the time. The brightly colored and surprisingly agile camera work of the otherwise notorious Ray Dennis Steckler (whose reflection can be spotted for a split second in the shiny side of a bus driving by during the opening scene) easily surpasses all of his achievements in any capacity he has attempted over the years. Oh, and just try to get that infernally catchy theme tune out of your head after-wards, a pay the rent if properly accredited assignment for composer Richard Loring (guilty of the equally indelible "Biddle-Dee-Dee" ditty for Disney's TOBY TYLER) and lyricist Guy Hemric, a veteran of Frankie and Annette's Beach Party movies. Warfield's superior script, whipped into shape by E.E. Patchen who wrote Richard Robinson's early 'core classic ADULTERY FOR FUN & PROFIT, was dusted off for a faithful fornication flick update fifteen years down the line by future bottom of the barrel gore guru Dave DeCoteau of all people which brings this review back full circle to the Roth reference from the first paragraph.

Little Miss Innocence (1973)** 1/2 (out of 4) Above average sexploitation picture has the middle-aged Rick (John Alderman) picking up sexy hitchhikers Carol (Sandy Dempsey) and Judy (Terri Johnson). The older man gets his wish of having sex with the women but pretty soon his desire turns into a nightmare as the girls refuse to leave.LITTLE MISS INNOCENCE is a film I hadn't heard about until after watching Eli Roth's KNOCK KNOCK. After viewing that movie I learned that it was a remake of DEATHGAME but it turns out that this film was yet an even earlier version. I must say that there are quite a few good things going in this film including plenty of nudity/sex but also some good performances by the three cast members.In a sexploitation picture it's not common to praise the performances but I thought all three actors were extremely good in their roles and especially the two women. Dempsey easily steals the film as the more sexually experienced character who also appears to be hiding some secrets. Johnson is also very good in her role as the more innocent girl who sometimes doesn't realize what they're doing.The film benefits from the fact that the two women are both beautiful and there is plenty of nudity throughout. The film is very well-made and features strong direction by Chris Warfield. There were some flaws with the picture including the fact that it does drag a bit even at just 72 minutes. Another problem are the scenes where the older man is complaining because he's getting too much sex!

Wealthy record company executive Rick Engels (well played to the smarmy hilt by John Alderman) picks up beautiful young hitchhikers Carol (a winningly sly and seductive performance by fetching brunette Sandy Dempsey) and Judy (a disarmingly sweet portrayal by yummy buxom blonde Terri Johnson) and takes them back to his swanky mansion for illicit carnal purposes. However, what initially seems like an ideal situation for Rick eventually goes awry when the two lovely lasses prove to be too much for Rick to easily handle and even refuse to leave his house.Director Chris Warfield basically treats the engrossingly seamy story as a claustrophobic chamber piece rife with mounting tension, abundant nudity, sizzling soft-core sex, and a suffocating hothouse atmosphere. E.E. Patchen's clever and compelling script puts a crafty spin on a quintessential male fantasy by showing how said fantasy can become an increasingly harrowing and nightmarish ordeal if one underestimates the intelligence and resourcefulness of the distaff participants. Moreover, the two main female characters are given a lot more depth and substance than one might expect: Carol turns out to be one especially nasty piece of bitter and vindictive work with a grim past history of abuse while Judy is revealed to be an underage virgin who's eager to learn all about sex. Kudos are also in order for Ray Dennis Steckler's proficient cinematography and the groovy theme song. Recommended viewing for 70's grindhouse cinema fans.

Serving as a sort of correction for the rampant misogyny in porn, LITTLE MISS INNOCENCE is an extremely well scripted and executed theatrical exercise, in which the girls get their own back. Perhaps too nasty and cynical for most tastes, it is a forgotten gem worth reviving.Structure is disarmingly simple: cinematically presented but resembling a one act play. Musical arranger Rick Engels (genre vet John Alderman) picks up a couple of jailbait girls in his Caddy convertible, offering to drive them home to his place. They take the ride but defer, visiting him later.SPOILERS ALERT:In the feminine equivalent of a Leopold/Loeb "thrill killers" opus, the femmes have made a pact to see if they can hump a guy to death. Film takes on some of the obsessiveness of Oshima's IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES as they literally try to put that cockamamy notion into practice.At first Rick is thrilled that not one but two pretty young things are throwing themselves at him, but after the first five sex bouts in succession, he's no longer fit to go to work, getting him in trouble with his boss at the recording studio. Unwillingly, he accedes to their obsession, a very accurate assumption on the part of the filmmakers of how the male ego might react in such an outlandish (except in one's fantasies) situation. Even Hugh Hefner doesn't have quite this sort of problem.Led by the bitter & vindictive older girl (Sandy Dempsey, thigh tattoo intact and threatening to go hardcore at any moment), they won't let up on Rick, and even put him into bondage in later reels to prevent him from splitting. The younger girl, bucktoothed blonde Judy (played quite well by the very distinctive looking porn starlet Terri Johnson in probably her largest role ever) is a virgin with an affidavit to prove it! (you have to watch the movie to appreciate this plot twist).Unlike most porn, whether it be soft or XXX, the movie whizzes by rapidly and boasts always interesting and apt dialog by the talented E.E. Patchen, who also wrote Richard Robinson's ADULTERY FOR FUN & PROFIT.Later reels turn deadly dark, befitting the film's in-your-face theme of turning on its head the male braggadocio about performance. Perhaps having women, especially much younger women, throw themselves at you insatiably would be way too much of a good thing. I'd love to have seen Rod Serling tackle this subject -too bad pay-cable didn't exist in his heyday! Dempsey's emoting is terrific -she even handles a big scene, breaking down admitting how her brother raped her when she was just 13, with skill that makes it unfortunate that the usual industry prejudice prevented her from crossing over into mainstream roles. I found Johnson deeply affecting -again proving that there's talent beneath the surface of a performer only used again and again for sexual content.Alderman, with his temples greyed up to make him look a tad older, was an excellent choice for the lead role. His acting is always up to snuff, and here the edge (for the porn fan) provided by his familiarity in macho roles pays off the way a Continental star like Marcello Mastroianni or Ugo Tognazzi was able to trade on previous appearances to connect immediately with the viewer.Not known for his technical skill, Ray Dennis Steckler contributes quality, almost "invisible" cinematography (no flashiness for its own sake), and the crew boasts plenty of other talent behind the camera, notably Buck Flower in several helping hand guises and a future porn auteur Joe Bardo as production coordinator.I've seen most of pornographer (and journeyman TV actor) Chris Warfield's work, and this ranks up there with CHAMPAGNE FOR BREAKFAST and PURELY PHYSICAL among his best. The usual suspects among know-it-all video distributors (AHC, SWV, Blue Underground, ABA, etc.) sure missed the boat by not resurrecting this classic.